Employers Turn to Blogs to Screen Job Seekers

Digging up digital dirt is rapidly becoming one of the most popular and effective ways for employers to weed through handfuls of job candidates. However, with corporate recruiters and executive search firms now using blogs as a prescreening tool for candidates, Whitcomb advises people to create online journals to demonstrate their skills, share their expertise, and lend potential employers insight into their personality.

Indianapolis, IN (PRWEB) October 2, 2006 -- Digging up digital dirt is rapidly becoming one of the most popular and effective ways for employers to weed through handfuls of job candidates. According to a 2005 survey by ExecuNet, an executive job search and networking organization, 75 percent of recruiters use search engines to uncover information about job seekers. Additionally, 26 percent have admitted to eliminating candidates due to information they discovered online.
   
From Facebook profiles featuring racy photos of candidates to public arrest records, the one thing standing between a perfectly qualified candidate and the job of their dreams could be their digital dirt drifting through cyber space. Therefore, college career advisors and job search experts are aggressively warning job seekers to be wary of their online presence.
   
However, eliminating embarrassing digital dirt doesn’t mean job seekers can’t stand out from their competitors on the web. In fact, Susan Britton Whitcomb, author of Résumé Magic, Third Edition, encourages job seekers to do just the opposite. With corporate recruiters and executive search firms now using blogs as a prescreening tool for candidates, Whitcomb advises people to create online journals to demonstrate their skills, share their expertise, and lend potential employers insight into their personality.
   
“You can write about projects you are working on, industry events, ongoing research, current trends, new products, and evaluations. You can also include articles or papers you have written, a bio, project histories, a downloadable résumé, and even audio or video presentations,” says Whitcomb.
   
Not only is a blog easy to create and update, it is a tool that allows people to develop their identity as a professional and respected opinion in their area of interest. Amidst a handful of competitors buried in digital dirt, a blog could be just the extra touch needed to make a candidate impress employers.

Résumé Magic, Third Edition, is available at all major bookstores and from the publisher (www.jist.com or 1.800.648.JIST). For a free media copy, contact Natalie Ostrom.
   
JIST, America’s Career Publisher, is the leading publisher of job search, career, occupational information, life skills and character education books, workbooks, assessments, videos and software.

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